In a speech Attorney General Bill Barr warned that communities which don’t respect law enforcement “might find themselves without the police protection they need.” Shortly thereafter, the FBI notified the President and him that it will no longer investigate any threats to either of them. [Satire by Lawrence Baron, PhD]
Dispatches from the Blight House Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire
Judge Victor Bianchini, an active member of the Jewish community, has been saluted in the video at the top of the page by his alma mater San Diego State University for his career as a Marine Corps, lawyer, California Superior Court Judge, part-time U.S. Magistrate, private mediator, and now a world-class fencing champion in the over 70-years-old division. [Donald H. Harrison]
San Diego State honors Judge Victor Bianchini Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education
By Steve Kramer AMSTERDAM, Holland — It wasn’t quite winter, but it felt like it, when my wife Michal and I visited Amsterdam at the end of November. Having been to Amsterdam about 25 years ago with our young sons, it wasn’t at the top of our wish list, especially since it’s overcrowded with
Amsterdam: the good and the ugly Read More »
International, Jewish History, Steve Kramer, Travel and Food
Avigdor Lieberman has been in politics for several decades. Earlier, he was close to Bibi, but later protested his less aggressive postures toward Palestinians. He came from a Zionist background in Kishinev, and in Israel has led the Yisrael Beitenu (Israel our Home) party. It began mostly with the support of Russian immigrants, but has since expanded its appeal–both due to the aging of the Russian population and Lieberman’s most recent posture as a strong opponent of the ultra-Orthodox and Benyamin Netanyahu. [Ira Sharkansky, PhD]
Stubborness of Lieberman, Netanyahu mires Israel Read More »
Ira Sharkansky, Middle East
Sephardic Jews who were expelled in the late 15th century from Portugal and Spain learned about cocoa and the production of chocolate from the indigenous peoples of Central and South America and the Caribbean. Keeping up contacts with non-Jewish acquaintances who had remained on Europe’s Iberian Peninsula, they helped to popularize chocolate and develop it as a product in international trade. [Donald H. Harrison]
Jews and chocolate: 500 years of sweetness Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Travel and Food, USA
The official journal of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has published an article depicting the Jewish National Fund as a colonialist exploiter of the Palestinian Arabs. Is this an appropriate way for a federally-funded museum that is mandated to teach about the Nazi genocide against the Jewish people to be using taxpayers’ dollars? [Moshe Phillips]
U.S. Holocaust Museum publishes attack on JNF Read More »
Middle East, USA
There are protests and riots across Iran, brutally put down by Iranian security forces and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC); the government is charging families for the bullets used to kill their loved ones before releasing bodies to them. Inflation is rampant and economic growth is negative. Sanctions on Iranian oil shipments have led Iran to steal Iraqi oil, one cause of the anti-Iranian riots across Iraq. Yet, Iran continues to arm its proxies and allies with missiles that can strike Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States, Jordan and Israel. Ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones, controlled by Iran’s Quds Force, are being spread across the region. [Shoshana Bryen and Stephen D. Bryen]
As Iranians riot, Iran stirs trouble elsewhere Read More »
International, Middle East, Shoshana Bryen, Stephen D. Bryen, USA
In 1975, Israeli writer Alona Frankel wrote a toilet training book for her child that became universally used in Israel and around the world, and is still in print today. The child finally succeeds at the task, and ends the book by saying “Bye-bye, wee-wee, Bye-bye, poo-poo.” What is the title of that children’s book? [Mark D. Zimmerman]
Jewish trivia quiz: Toilets in Israel Read More »
Mark D. Zimmerman, Trivia, Humor & Satire
“First, be very sure you want to be president, even though it costs you considerable money and time attending boring meetings and dealing with people who are never satisfied,” President Trump began. “I don’t think I’ve mentioned it, but being president has cost me millions of dollars. But that’s okay.” [Satire by Joel H. Cohen]
Trump’s advice for synagogue presidents Read More »
Joel H. Cohen, Trivia, Humor & Satire
On one side of the seating area on Sunday, Dec. 8, was a documented German cattle car used to transport Jews from Warsaw to their death in Treblinka. On the opposite side was a full-sized WWII era American Sherman tank, the kind of war machine needed and used to end the Holocaust. It was a dramatic setting for a crowd of hundreds to view the opening of Israel Then and Now, a traveling exhibit combining historical images, milestone moments, interactive media, and film. [Jerry Klinger]
Traveling Israel exhibit opens in Florida Read More »
Jerry Klinger, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, USA
Down Under, Hanukah and Christmas are summer time party times at the beach or lake or up in the mountains or you can just stay home. A big calendar, picturing ‘Food and Culture in Israel’ was a gift from the Embassy of Israel this time last year.It shows that the Eve of Hanukah this month is Sunday Dec 22 and Christmas day is the following Wednesday. The small Jewish community of New Zealand — much smaller than that of San Diego — and the Embassy of Israel host Hanukah Parties for the public each year in Auckland and Wellington. I can’t make one this year but they are always fun. [John McCormick]
How New Zealanders celebrate their holidays Read More »
International, John McCormick
The local Jewish community has watched congressional candidate Sara Jacobs, 30, grow up within institutions named for her family. For example, she attended the preschool and later participated in 18 J*Company shows on the Jacobs Family Campus of the Lawrence Family JCC. Her parts ranged from the mother in Benjamin and Judah to the “scary grandmother” back from the underworld in Fiddler on the Roof. [Donald H. Harrison]
Sara Jacobs on her family, issues, and spending Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Judaism, Middle East, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
Binyamin Netanyahu is the most powerful politician in Israel. Yet he often describes himself as a victim – of the media, of the police, of the judiciary, now even of an alleged cabal within his own party led by his rival Gideon Sa’ar. [Rabbi Dow Marmur]
Netanyahu has a persecution complex Read More »
International, Jewish History, Middle East
I glimpsed an off-leash German shepherd hurtling toward me. Before I had a chance to retreat or make a submissive gesture, he tried to bite me on the neck. Being smaller and quicker, I managed to jerk my head away from his mouth. Based on his unprovoked attack on another breed, I assume his name was Adolf. [Elona Baron as told to Laurie Baron]
Restraining dogs and humans that bite Read More »
Lawrence Baron, Trivia, Humor & Satire